The Last of Us

Chapter 2: Knowledge is Dangerous

Linda looked at the paper and the look on her face was unreadable, but I waited patiently for her answer. The girls next to me moved from side to side trying to stay warm. "Okay, what is this place?" she asked me after a moment. "Well, i don't know. that's why i thought we could check it out." I replied, hoping I didn't sound like an idiot.

"Alright, lets go." she smiled and pulled my arm and we continued walking towards this address. As we made our way back towards the houses and farther away from the restaurants and stores, the Christmas lights and decorations we're glistening and lit up our path beautifully. It was almost as though we were walking in the middle of the day, and I even found myself squinting because of the brightness. I had almost completely forgotten the 3 other girls with us, when they stopped and said it was too cold. Apparently we were close to their houses and we said quick goodbyes before we headed in different directions.

I wasn't expecting this night to turn into what it had, but i wasn't complaining when we reached our destination and I still had Linda hooked on my arm. I pretended she was madly in love with me, even though it was much more likely that she was trying to keep warm. I was thankful that she stayed with me instead of going home though.

We both looked up at the building with the same address that was on the paper. "You sure this is it? It looks like a church." she said to me, and I nodded in response. The large building was an old abandoned church that wasn't lit up at all compared to the other buildings in town. Except for a small light, emanating from behind the large wooden doors. We walked up the stairs, and looked for a bell but it didn't have one. I knocked on the large door, and heard the echos through the building. I sighed realizing that there was probably nothing here, and as I turned away from the door, I heard locks being rattled behind it. I looked back up and the doors opened widely, and a wave of warmth enveloped us like a big blanket and it felt great. A small woman answered the door. She had long, straight hair that was graying at the roots. She wore a thin sweater and big glasses. She put her hands together in front of her chest and bowed to us. "Welcome, young ones. Please come in, and embrace the knowledge." she said casually and my eyes widened and Linda smiled at her and skipped along inside.

I quickly followed behind her as the small woman walked ahead of us. She lead us down a narrow hall way made of stone. It was lit by torches that were mounted on the walls. It felt as though we had entered a medieval castle, or at least something similar to that. Yet I was completely preoccupied with how Linda seemed to be excited about this place.

We finally reached the end of the hallway, which seemed to have been stretching on forever. The small woman was stronger than she looked as she used both arms and heaved open a heavy looking, wooden door which lead into a small, candle lit office. "The doctor will be right with you." the woman said before quickly leaving the room. "Who?" I said, but was cut off by the door slamming behind her.

Linda didn't appear to be distracted, or concerned by any of this as she began to explore the room. She looked through the book shelf and on the desk, reading all the papers that were scattered across the table. "Bobby, look at this stuff. it's really interesting." she said to me while looking down at some of the loose papers on the desk. I walked over and looked down at them. Most of them talked about cell regeneration, brain activity after death and stem cell research.

I began to really get into one of the articles when I heard the door open up again. I looked up to see a tall and slender man, with powdery white hair walk in. He smiled at us, and hooked his scarf and coat on the rack to his right. He then lit a few more candles that eventually illuminated the room just as well as a large lamp could have.

Linda and I respectfully moved away from his desk, and he shook both of our hands before motioning us to sit in the two chairs that faced his desk. We all sat down and he lit one more candle on his desk. "Hello young ones, i'm doctor Charles Dickinson." he said, and his British accent was heavy. I ran his name through my thoughts and then my eyes widened as I lifted out of my seat slightly. "You must have read about me. If you must know, I didn't escape and I'm not crazy. I was proven innocent and they let me go. Those stories on the internet are bloody outrageous. which is part of the reason we don't use electricity here. And if you don't believe me, look at this document I have here, proving my innocence." He handed me a paper stating that he had been released from maximum security prison after he was found innocent by the jury. "What is he talking about Bobby?" Linda asked me worriedly. "Nothing Linda. don't worry its nothing, I promise." I lied and she seemed to believe it as she relaxed back into her seat.